Throughout her trip, Rice never publicly uttered the term “cease-fire.” But at the request of Egypt, Rice privately asked Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to issue a public statement that Israel would halt attacks if Hamas stopped firing crude rockets at Israeli towns and cities. One day later, Egyptian officials could point to the statement in talks with Hamas, and the daily barrage suddenly stopped.

What about Clintonite Dennis Ross (who along with Richard Holbrooke and Wes Clark would be the main foreign policy players in a Clinton administration)? Not so much.

But many experts in the United States argue that Hamas should not be rewarded for bad behavior. Former Clinton administration negotiator Dennis Ross said, “It would give the sense that the world has to adjust to them, and immediately demoralize the Palestinians you want to work with.”

The Palestinians you want to work with consists of….Fatah?

That’s a difficult position given:

none of the players — including Israel’s Arab neighbors — wants a solution that appears to grant Hamas any sort of victory, diplomats said. “No one can ignore Hamas. They are a reality,” said an Arab diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivities. “It’s all about how much of a dividend to give them.”